Inauguration of the electric lighting of the monument on Saturday 26 January
The temple of Apollo in ancient Corinth is now illuminated and shining in the night after the completion of the project of electrification, the inauguration of which will take place on Saturday 26 January on 7 at night. The 17th Ephorate of Antiquities, which prepared the study in the summer of 2012 in collaboration with the architectural lighting company Diathlasis SA., to be subsequently approved unanimously by the Central Archaeological Council.
The projection of the monument and not the imposition of lighting on it was the basic principle of the study, but also the adaptation of the intensities both to itself and to its immediate environment, the performance of the shadings and the highlighting of the building material of its construction which was the porolit. Of course, the energy saving and the reversibility of the operation were taken into account in case it is decided to restore the temple, while an attempt was made to avoid light pollution.
The execution of the project is due to the engineer – engineer Mr. Georgios Veronikis in collaboration with the Smart Electric company, while it should be noted that it could not have been implemented without the cultural sponsorship of Club Hotel Casino Loutraki S.A., which was made following a relevant request from the ΓΖ΄ EPKA.
The temple of Apollo (550 – 540 e.g.) is an important monument, which marks the beginnings of the application of the Doric style in ancient architecture while reflecting the economic strength and commercial power of the city of Corinth in archaic times, when the city emerged as a leading power of the Greek world by establishing strong colonies.
But after the destruction of the city, the 146 B.C. and its re-establishment now as a colony of the family of the Roman emperor Octavian Augustus, the temple was remodeled, possibly to house the imperial cult. Its ruins have been visible for centuries but actually its first excavation took place in 1886 by the German archaeologist Wilhelm Derpfeld. Today, in addition to the foundation of the monument, seven columns of the western part of the occasion stand in place, as well as the southwest corner of the archway.
